On February 29, the PIJIP office submitted several Freedom of Information Act requests to the United States Trade Representative to gather more information on the current procedure for compiling Special 301 Reports. Among them was a general request for information that I personally submitted. My request specifically sought access to all records pertaining to certain aspects of the compilation process for the 2012 Special 301 Report. These included records related to:
Last week, PIJIP staff submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request to the State Department. The request was for the Circular 175 memo, the accompanying Memorandum of Law, and subsequently related documents in connection to the negotiation and conclusion of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
The Circular 175 procedure is the State Department’s method of verifying that pending treaties are a valid use of the US government’s treaty making power and that all US foreign policy is negotiated and concluded in a coordinated manner. Continue reading »